Friday, November 02, 2012

Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm by Philip Pullman

Two centuries ago, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their first volume, Children’s and Household Tales. Now Philip Pullman makes us fall in love all over again with the immortal tales of the Brothers Grimm.

With Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm, Pullman retells his fifty favorites. Much-loved stories like “Cinderella”, “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Gretel” to lesser-known treasures like “The Three Snake Leaves", "Godfather Death" and "The Girl with No Hands" are all here. At the end of each tale he offers a brief personal commentary that opens a window on the sources of the tales, the various forms they've taken over the centuries and their everlasting appeal.

Suffused with romance and villainy, danger and wit, the Grimms' fairy tales have inspired Pullman to create a unique and beguiling retelling which will draw you back into a world that has long cast a spell on the Western imagination.